Audio from Lafayette's weekly media luncheon:
- Lafayette Coach Frank Tavani
- Columbia Coach Ray Tellier
- Senior LB Adriel Linyear
- Junior C Chris Royle
For More Lafayette Football Coverage:
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Oct. 2, 2001
LAFAYETTE VS. COLUMBIA
Saturday, Oct. 6, 2001 - 1:37 p.m. EDT
Fisher Field (13,750/Natural Grass)
Easton, Pennsylvania
TV: Lafayette Sports Network (RCN 4 & WBPH 60) Live to more than 5.2 million viewers.
The Game
- The Lafayette football team looks to rebound from an 0-3 start that included a 38-14 loss at Harvard this past weekend when it hosts Columbia this Saturday. Kickoff is set for 1:37 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on television (Lafayette Sports Network - RCN-4 and WBPH-60), on radio (WEST-AM 1400, pre-game show starting at 1 p.m.), and on the internet (www.lafayette.edu).
- Columbia enters this week's action fresh off a 44-11 loss to Ivy League rival Princeton. The Lions committed four turnovers that led directly to 17 Tiger points.
- Thanks to Circle Systems of Easton, Pa., the Leopards will be wearing an American flag on the back of their helmets the rest of the 2001 season to honor those who are dead or missing as a result of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
- Lafayette leads the all-time series with Columbia 20-11-2 and has never lost to the Lions in games played in Easton (9-0-1).
- Youth Day activities this Saturday at Fisher Field will include a moon bounce, quarterback challenge, dunk tank and "Balloons" the clown. All activities begin at noon and admission is free.
The Series
(34th Meeting) Lafayette and Columbia have met 33 times on the gridiron, dating back to the first encounter in the 1889 season, and the Leopards lead the series 20-11-2. The two teams have met in Easton, Pa. 10 times, with Lafayette holding a 9-0-1 advantage in those meetings. Lafayette won 12 straight contests vs. Columbia in a stretch that spanned from 1981 through 1993. Columbia won last season's battle in New York City, 47-22 on the strength of All-Ivy RB Jonathan Reese's 201 rushing yards and three touchdowns. (See page 3 for a complete game recap and statistics of the most recent meeting in the series.)
Media Information
"weather.com" forecast: Partly cloudy with a high of 60? and a low of 39?.
Radio: WEST (1400 AM ), 66th Season - Dick Hammer, play-by-play (35th season) - Mike Moore, color analyst (14th season)
Television: Lafayette Sports Network (RCN-TV 4 and WBPH TV-60 - over 5.2 million viewers) - Gary Laubach, play-by-play (5th season) - John Leone, color analyst (4th season) - Dan Mowdy, sideline reporter (1st season)
Internet: Live audio can be accessed by logging on to www.lafayette.edu
"Lafayette Sports Weekly": Half-hour radio show airs every Thursday at 7 p.m. EST from September through March and features head coach Frank Tavani as a regular guest during the season. Tune in to WEST (1400 AM) or listen to the audio webcast at www.lafayette.edu
Weekly Media Luncheons: Head coach Frank Tavani and at least two members of the team will address the media at noon each Tuesday during the season. Members of the media are invited to join Coach Tavani at Larry Holmes' Ringside Restaurant in downtown Easton. The luncheons are open to the public for a fee of $10 per person.
Quotes: Digital audio files from the weekly Lafayette football media luncheon will be available by 5 p.m. each Tuesday. They can be obtained by calling Lafayette's Office of Athletic Communications or by logging on to the Lafayette Web site at www.lafayette.edu.
Interviews: All interview requests for Head Coach Frank Tavani and members of the team must be submitted to Lafayette's Office of Athletic Communications. No player interviews will be granted on game day until after the game.
The Head Coaches
The latest era in the proud history of Lafayette football began on Dec. 11, 1999, when Frank Tavani (Lebanon Valley '75) was named the 27th head football coach in the history of the program. Now in his second season as head coach, Tavani had been a top member of Lafayette's coaching staff for the previous 13 seasons. Tavani has a career record of 2-12. This is his first contest at home vs. Columbia as head coach of the Leopards and he is 0-1 overall vs. the Lions.
Ray Tellier (Connecticut '73) is in his 13th season at Columbia and 18th as a collegiate head coach. His overall career record stands at 59-108-3, including a mark of 38-82-2 at Columbia. Tellier is 3-5-1 vs. Lafayette and 0-3-1 vs. the Leopards at Fisher Field.
Columbia Week Game Captain - Chris Royle '03
The Lafayette coaching staff is naming a game captain each week of the 2001 season. This student-athlete will serve as a team captain the entire week of practice and at the game along with team captains Jim Brown (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg) and Barret Diefenderfer (Great Falls, Va./The Landon School). Junior center Chris Royle (Stockton, N.J./Hunterdon Central) has been named the Columbia week game captain.
Princeton Game Cancelled
The Lafayette-Princeton football game, originally scheduled Sept. 15 at Princeton Stadium and postponed Sept. 13 because of the terrorist attack on America, has been cancelled and will not be rescheduled. For ticket return information, fans should contact the Lafayette Athletic Ticket Office at 610-330-5471 or via email (tickets@lafayette.edu).
The Touchdown May-ker -- The Sequel
Senior receiver Andrew May (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Ketcham), who established a new Lafayette record with his 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the Leopards' win over Holy Cross last season, scored a touchdown nearly 20 percent of the time he touched the football during the 2000 season. The art major officially touched the ball 39 times, making 25 pass receptions for 482 yards, one rush for 11 yards, and 13 kickoff returns for 334 yards. Of those 39 "touches," seven resulted in touchdowns.
May's touchdown efforts continued in the Leopards' 2001 season opener, as he returned the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown. In addition, he caught six passes for 100 yards, his second career 100-yard receiving effort.
Leopard Injury Update
The current listing of Lafayette football injuries:
- Darnell Azeez - probable (achilles tendon).
- Andrew May - probable (bruised knee).
- Ryan Moloney - out for the season (neck strain).
- Jorge Rosa - doubtful (dislocated shoulder).
- Paul Stack - out for the season (knee surgery).
Five Academic All-Americans Return to the Fold
Five Leopards, the most ever for a Lafayette football team, earned a spot on the 2000 Verizon District II Academic All-America squad. The quintet of Leopards, which led the Patriot League and consisted exclusively of underclassmen, included first-team honorees Kenya Allen (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny) and Stewart Kupfer (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth-Whitemarsh). Earning a nod on the second team were Jamie Anzalone (Shavertown, Pa./Wyoming Seminary), Herb Kennedy (Troy, N.Y./Troy), and Chad Ritchie (Winchester, Va./John Handley).
In addition, a record total of 10 Leopards earned a spot on the 2000 Patriot League Academic Honor Roll, which requires a minimum 3.20 grade point average and a varsity letter to qualify.
Local Ties
Lafayette has four players on its current roster who are from one of the five boroughs of New York City. Lafayette's "true New Yorkers" include seniors Darnell Azeez (Bronx, N.Y./Brooklyn Tech) and Adriel Linyear (Brooklyn, N.Y./Shaker), sophomore Kevin Moss (New York, N.Y./Simsbury) and freshman Brian Carstens (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell).
Lafayette vs. the Ivy League
The Leopards have played 204 games against the eight members of the Ivy League, and are 56-141-7 (.292) in those contests. Lafayette vs. the members of the Ivy League:
Brown 3-8-0 Cornell 8-14-2 Harvard 2-5-0 Princeton 3-32-3Columbia 20-11-2 Dartmouth 2-6-0 Pennsylvania 18-59-0 Yale 0-6-0
2001 Team Captains
The 2001 Lafayette football team captains, as chosen by their teammates and coaching staff, are senior defensive lineman Barret Diefenderfer (Great Falls, Va./The Landon School) and senior offensive lineman Jim Brown (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg).
On This Date
The Leopards have played 13 games in their history on October 6, and are 8-4-1 in those contests. The ledger:
Year Result Opponent 1894 L, 10-12 at Rutgers 1897 W, 8-0 at Franklin & Marshall 1906 W, 33-0 Ursinus 1917 W, 20-0 U.S. Ambulance 1923 L, 7-0 at Pittsburgh 1928 W, 56-0 Muhlenberg 1934 W, 19-0 Muhlenberg 1945 T, 7-7 at Princeton 1956 W, 28-14 at Delaware 1962 L, 28-7 at Delaware 1973 W, 28-12 C.W. Post 1984 L, 22-20 at Maine 1990 W, 41-34 at Columbia
Air Canada
Lafayette quarterback Marko Glavic (Pickering, Ontario/St. Mary Catholic) returns following a freshman campaign that saw him earn Patriot League, ECAC, and USATODAY.com Rookie of the Year honors. The seventh Lafayette player to earn Patriot League Rookie of the Year honors, Glavic completed 159-of-297 passes for 1,964 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2000.
With two 200-yard passing performances in the Leopards' 2001 season (244 yards at Towson, 255 yards at Harvard), Glavic now has eight career 200-yard games in just 11 starts.
Iron Leopards As a team, Lafayette had its strongest off-season in recent history, literally. More than 30 Leopards remained around campus throughout the summer to strength train in preparation for the 2001 season.
Crossing The Line
Several Leopards changed sides of the ball during the 2001 preseason, most notably co-captain Jim Brown (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg). A defensive lineman for his first three seasons, Brown quickly agreed to the move in order to help the team because of the rash of injuries that has affected the Leopards' offensive line. Also changing positions were Stephen Bono (Upper Saddle River, N.J./Northern Highlands Regional), from DL to OL, Brian Carstens (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell), from DL to OL, Josh Keister (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater Raritan), from DL to OL, and Matt Kulp (Lititz, Pa./Manheim Central), from FB to LB.
Leopards Dominate the TV Airwaves ... Again!
The 2001 Lafayette College football season will see a Patriot League-best nine contests hit the television air waves via the Lafayette Sports Network. The Lafayette Sports Network, the most expansive television package in the Patriot League three years running, can be seen by more than 5.2 million viewers in the Lehigh Valley, Philadelphia, central New Jersey, New York City, and Boston. Locally, the telecasts are aired on RCN TV-4 and WBPH-TV 60, and can be seen on RCN Cable channels 4 and 60, Service Electric Cable channel 51, Suburban Cable channel 17, Blue Ridge Cable channel 5, and broadcast channel 60.
Renowned local sports broadcaster Gary Laubach handles all of the Leopards' play-by-play duties for the fifth season. In his fourth full season of football broadcasts is John Leone, Lafayette's Director of Alumni Affairs, who provides color analysis. In his first season of handling sideline reports on the Leopards is Dan Mowdy.
Home Sweet Home
Erected in 1926, Lafayette College's Fisher Field is in its 76th season as the home of the Leopards, having played host to 360 Lafayette football games. Lafayette has recorded 12 undefeated home seasons at Fisher Field. The Leopards are 215-132-13 (.615) overall at Fisher Field.
All-Time Record
The Leopards are in their 120th football season, having played 1,131 games. Lafayette boasts an impressive all-time record of 590-502-39 (.539) and ranks 32nd on the nation's all-time victories list. Lafayette leads the Patriot League in all-time wins, with Lehigh the closest at 567.
In Overtime Games ...
Lafayette has now played five overtime games and are 1-4 in those contests. After winning the first overtime affair in 1995 over Fordham (24-21 on 11/11/95), the Leopards have lost their last four OT games.
Local Flavor - Nine Lehigh Valley Leopards
The 2000 Lafayette College football team boasts nine members from the Lehigh Valley. Consistently a prominent recruiter of top talent in the Lehigh Valley, Lafayette brought in three local freshmen this past recruiting year. The Lehigh Valley Leopards:
5 Vince Boyer (Jr./SE/Tamaqua, Pa./Tamaqua Area)
98 Pat Brown (So./DL/Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic)
7 Joel Cesare (So./WR/Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall)
46 Greg Gibbs (Fr./LB/Allentown, Pa./Salisbury)
18 John-Frank Stubits (Fr./DB/Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth)
29 Dave Walters (Fr./TB/Easton, Pa./Freedom/Wyoming Seminary)
4 Scott Warden (Sr./FB/Warrington, Pa./Central Bucks West)
9 Jeff Werrell (Sr./SE/Allentown, Pa./Salisbury)
62 Curt Wilson (So./OL/Northampton, Pa./Northampton)
A History of Championships
The Lafayette football program has claimed three national championships -- 1896, 1921 and 1926 -- and recorded five undefeated seasons -- 1896 (11-0-1), 1921 (9-0-0), 1926 (9-0-0), 1937(8-0-0) and 1940 (9-0-0). Of recent note, the Leopards have won Patriot League championships in 1988, 1992 and 1994.
Weekly Radio Show
Lafayette Sports Weekly, a comprehensive half-hour radio show will air live each Thursday at 7 p.m. from September through March on the Lafayette Sports Network's flagship radio station, WEST AM Stereo 1400, and online at www.lafayette.edu. WEST-AM sports director Dick Hammer will be joined each week by either Gary Laubach or John Leone, Lafayette Sports Network's television commentators, for an exciting half-hour exclusively devoted to Lafayette sports. Head football coach Frank Tavani will be a featured guest during the football season, while head men's basketball coach Fran O'Hanlon and head women's basketball coach Tammy Smith will be regulars during their teams' winter campaigns.
